Athletes training in Shropshire for Invictus Games are up to the challenge

The games were launched in 2014 to help celebrate the fighting spirit of wounded, injured and sick service personnel and show what they can achieve.

In September the games will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany, with competitors from more than 20 countries taking part.

The 59 members of the British team are training at the Battle Back Centre in Lilleshall, near Newport, and they include those from the county.

Having always been an aviation fanatic, Shropshire-based James Harrison, 33, joined the RAF in 2018 and was excited to begin serving his country and taking on the challenges that military life had to offer. However, unknown to him at the time, James began to experience symptoms of what was later diagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Although James is no longer able to conduct certain aspects of his military role, he was offered retraining and has recently started a new role as an air intelligence analyst, which has allowed him to learn new skills and secure his long-term future in the RAF.

“When it came to applying for the Invictus Games, I wanted a new challenge and new opportunity to help me keep motivated and driven," he said.

"I have always loved sports, especially cycling, and Invictus provided that chance to see what I could do, meet top coaches and speak to other people going through similar health issues to myself.

“Having now been selected, I am over the moon and can’t express how grateful and excited I am to be a part of the UK Team in Dusseldorf. I am just ready to get training and I want to prove to myself that I have what it takes to do well in the Games and in the long-run inspire others to succeed and not give up.”

Alexandra McClellan, also based in Shropshire, served as an emergency nurse with Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps.

Shortly before departing for her third tour of Afghanistan in 2012, at the age of 30, she suffered a stroke, the effects of which are still felt now.

Physically, her right side has a slight weakness, but it is the mental effects however that Alexandra says she finds harder to explain.

She was selected for Team UK for the Invictus Games in Sydney in 2018 but says a negative chain of events early in the process, meant that without realising it she started to cut herself off from the experience. By the time she arrived in Sydney she felt ’numb and unfeeling’ and disengaged from it all.

This time she is determined to make the most of being part of Team UK and is training for indoor rowing, cycling and athletics.

“As a personal goal I would like to feel pride and stand tall again, to build strength mentally and physically and hold my head up a lot more than I do now. What I feel this experience will help me now with is to progress forwards in life, as I feel I've been just stood still and existing for the last 10 years. I would like to find a little bit of the old ‘me’ again.”

Shropshire-based Jenny Hartley enlisted into the general Service Corps aged 18, before being commissioned into the Royal Logistics Corps in 2003. Aged 28 she decided to retrain as a doctor and transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps in 2010 during her training.

A wrist fracture during a PT session in 2017, led to her being medically discharged. The fracture didn’t heal correctly, leaving Jenny with restricted movement. Despite two years of rehab and exploring alternative options, the injury left Jenny unable to carry out the primary task of a soldier – operating a weapon.

She said: “Last year, so much has changed in my life, I felt I was a bit lost and needed an anchor to make me realise who I was again.”

Her sports are athletics and powerlifting.

Tilly Fisher, 42, from Shropshire, had always wanted to be in the Armed Forces from a young age and dreamed of becoming an officer. So, when the British Army came to her small Fiji island on a recruitment drive, Tilly decided to apply, along with around 5,000 other applicants.

From that first round, only 50 people were selected, and Tilly was one of only nine females in that number.

She said she loved military life and conducted tours of Iraq and Afghanistan during her time. But she suffered from severe PTSD as a result of her postings out in Afghanistan and during the last three years of service said she really struggled.

She said sport kept her focused and provided an outlet for her to cope competing in the Army’s rugby team before injuring her knee and ultimately being medically discharged.

“Being part of Team UK is an absolute honour and it is the ultimate motivation on my recovery journey. I cannot wait to be a part of something again – it’s a sense of belonging and comradery that I really do miss. I cannot wait to get going and I’ve put myself forward for several sports that include powerlifting, shotput, discus and wheelchair rugby.

“It’s just such a huge thing to be a part of, just like being in the military and it’s already providing me with a great boost – I’m keen to look into other sports clubs locally, I am looking forward to training with top coaches and re-igniting that athlete in me.”